We live on a BOAT!

Good Morning! Third day living on the boat. Here I am, washing the hull. It took two whole days. (Note the boat's former name)....

Good Morning! Third day living on the boat.

Here I am, washing the hull. It took two whole days. (Note the boat's former name).

Who knew that Trav knows how to replace an emergency bilge pump?

Fixing a hole

Moxie splashdown.

We love, love LOVE our new transom!

There is so much NEW in our lives right now that I don't even know how or where to begin . As a list person, the only vehicle that comes to mind to describe all of this craziness is to compile a NEWNESS LIST, so here it goes...
1.We live in Florida.
2.We live on a boat.
3.We live in a marina surrounded by other boats.
4.We live in 250 square feet.
5. Our house is either somewhat tricky or super easy to access, depending on the tide. (This comes into play in a serious way when you are carrying multiple bags of groceries or if you are a 10 year old Chocolate Lab.)
6. Our toilet is currently working for pee, but not for #2.
7. Every stitch of the small amount of clothing I now own fits into one 8 inch drawer, one odd-shaped mini-cubby and 6 hangers in a very tiny locker.
8. Half of our family has stopped wearing underwear altogether (see if you can guess who).
9. When other kids in the pool are sighted, we stop what we are doing and RUN to the pool.
10.We don't ever really know what any day will bring, what we will exactly do or see in that day, who we will meet, what will work, and what will not. Every day is a mysterious grab bag of random goodies, oddities, annoyances, treasures, and discoveries.

We arrived in Florida on October 30, and we spent the next 2.5 weeks living in a small rented house 20 minutes away from our marina. Trav and I began the overwhelming task of getting the boat ready to go back in the water and after that, to sail. (NONE of this could not have been accomplished without the incredible help of Trav's Mom and her husband who came to Florida to be with the kids while we worked. THANK YOU Tom and Ginger!!) If you are wondering what it's like to work on a boat, let me tell you: every single thing you try to accomplish will take you twice or three times as long as you thought it would and it will cost twice as much money. I won't bore you with the details, but let's just say, I've never worked harder, sweated more, smelled worse, or learned as much. Not ever. And I'm still processing it all as we speak. Somehow, Trav and I came through those intense initial weeks of working together and arduously figuring it all out, bit by bit, without losing our heads and still wanting to sail together. And here we are.
Last Wednesday, our boat's transom was affixed with her new name, the meaningful name that we had planned, long ago, to one day call our boat, if we ever were lucky enough to own a boat. When we pulled up and saw the new lettering, MOXIE Telluride, Colorado, I cried happy tears. It was visible proof that our dream was coming true. The next day, she was strapped into an enormous lifting machine and then lowered into the water. It was a momentous occasion. As soon as she went into the water, Travis motored her into a slip, and we moved onto the boat. We will keep Moxie in the marina for the next few weeks while we finish the final projects that are necessary for us to set sail.

We've seen dolphins, manatees, otters, lizards, and peacocks roaming free. We've tackled subtraction and division. We are diving into the skeletal system and understanding maps. We've all taken a turn at sanding wood. We are trying to learn how to live in a very small space without constantly bumping into each other. We are practicing keeping cool in the face of the daunting, foreign tasks that face us daily in this intense time of learning. And we are drinking cold beer.

Tomorrow, my parents arrive to spend Thanksgiving with us! I am beyond excited to see them, and for them to meet Moxie.

Next blog post: THE PHOTOGRAPHIC BOAT TOUR.
Thank you for reading, I am so thankful for our friends. xo

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comments

Keep the fair wind at your back and hang on.... listen to the sailing families as they have been there and done that... say yes to adventure by making no plans ... and know come what may you couldn't be doing a better thing for your children ..,,

Jen, love, love, love reading this! You all are amazing! Viv and Hudson's smiles say it all! We talk about Viv on a regular basis. Reading your blog is and LP's favorite "book". Real life, real time, her real friend. Happy Holidays to you all and we look forward to the next chapter :). XO, Ashley

Hud kept our spirits up during the long, awful day by playing his uke and singing. It has taken me a few days to process what ...

Jennifer & Travis Julia

Travis and Jen Julia are Captain and First Mate of SV Moxie. Originally from Maine and friends since they were nine years old, Trav & Jen reside in Telluride, CO when they are not sailing with their crew, which includes Hudson (11) and Vivian (8).